I noticed this too with 10. Because I use "Select by Location" quite a bit, I understood what they were trying to do, but this new design might be confusing for anyone new. I agree, the "classic mode" was a lot easier to read and follow, especially when the actions were clearly listed.

I was just about to submit my own idea for this when I found this previously posted one. The new design of this dialog is not as intuitive, and it is a mystery why it was even changed. Please change it back or have an option to use it in the 9.3 mode.

This is not an improvement by any means! The 9.3 version of the Select by Location dialog was very intuitive and was an easy 'read' into the nature of the spatial query one was performing. As an ESRI ATP and Geospatial Scientist at Eastern Illinois University, I find my students now become thoroughly confused when building spatial queries. Please revert this to the way it was; this is NOT an improvement. The new design is difficult to read, lacks any spatially-intuitive 'flow' and is quite frankly, sloppy in its approach...

Agree! Almost a year later and this is not even "under consideration?" New wording is so unintuitive, particularly to new users. I can't figure out the audience that would find the new version better. Come on Esri, this is such an easy fix....

Being a seasoned user of ArcGIS and English grammar, I even struggled with this one! What were you thinking, ESRI? As noted by other users, the wording in previous versions was logical and you could follow from beginning to end easily. Now, the reordering and unnecessary wording is ridiculous and hard to follow. Recently, I was teaching a GIS "newbie" some of the basics of GIS, and she was thrown for a loop when I got to this! It took us about 30 minutes just to work through this dialog, which is completely unbelievable! Please return this dialog to the previous wording and layout ASAP!

The tool was perfectly good before. It looks like some "geek" changed it for changes sake and has just cheesed everyone off. A big song and dance was made about how 10 was all about usability, how on Earth did this get passed their user testing phase (if they even have on)?

Come on ESRI, your response is to give us a Request Workspace icon? We don't need a "collaborative workspace that enables us to work with community members and get their help in refining our idea and taking it to the next level." The request is clear, there is no redisign needed, there is not one dissenting comment here, and it's a simple, simple fix.